Natural Bridges UT

Leaving Blanding we made our way to Monument Valley. For those who have never been there – GO. We went by way of Natural BridgesNational Monument. 
   

Utah's First National Monument

Three majestic natural bridges invite you to ponder the power of water in a landscape usually defined by its absence. View them from an overlook, or hit the trails and experience their grandeur from below. Declared a National Monument in 1908, the bridges are named "Kachina," "Owachomo" and "Sipapu" in honor of the Native Americans that once made this area their home.

There are literally hundreds of arches (bridges) throughout southern Utah and northern Arizona. Then we came to the edge of Monument Valley – literally at a precipice where even the road map shows an incredible number of roadway switchbacks to reach the valley floor. We were driving along on seemingly flat land then BOOM – we had to stop just to take in the several thousand feet drop to the valley floor. But it was more than that. As far as the eye could see, the valley went on and on with a monument or two popping up here and there. As far as the eye could see – I’m talking hundreds of miles – something had happened to the land millions of years ago. Where (in the world) did it all go? So the monuments were made of sturdier material – fine. But for heavens sake where did all that other dirt go to? Mexico? If so you can’t see it from the road. It’s as though a huge shovel, with a blade about 100 miles wide, just reached onto the earth and starting moving dirt. But I couldn’t tell where.
   

Colors

This map has more unusual colors than any equivalent in Indiana.

 

Blanding

We spent the night in Blanding at the Prospector Motor Lodge. Stay here only if it's your last resort (humor) available. What looks like a mountain is actually huge depressions (valleys) throughout the area.

Natural Bridge

Typical deep gorge - the entire park is a series of deep gorges. Just don't get caught at the bottom when a rain storm comes through.

This is the Natural Arch - well photographed. More on Natural Bridges formation.

A close up view shows how narrow one end is. Reportedly cowboys would ride their horses over the bridge at one time (but not now...)

Sipapu, a Hopi word, is a small hole or indentation in the floor of kivas used by the Ancient Pueblo Peoples and modern-day Puebloans. It symbolizes the portal through which their ancient ancestors first emerged to enter the present world.^[1]

Kachina is "the middle bridge." Spanning the canyon equidistant from both Owachomo and Sipapu bridges. It is larger than Owachomo but smaller than Sipapu. Proving that canyons are dynamic rather than static, approximately 4,000 tons of sandstone fell from the inside of the Kachina bridge opening in June, 1992, enlarging the opening as it has doubtless been enlarged time and time again.

Interesting arch formation. You can see where the water swirled around for, perhaps, millions of years.

The rivers swirls through this gorge after a heavy rainfall.

Did you know...

 Pinyon pines do not produce pine nuts every year. These delicious nuts can only be harvested every three to seven years. This irregular schedule prevents animals from adapting to an abundance of pine nuts and guarantees that at least some nuts will become new pine trees instead of a quick meal.